James Flavin
American character actor whose career lasted nearly half a century. James Wilson Flavin Jr. was the son of a hotel waiter of Canadian-English extraction and a mother, Katherine, whose father was an Irish immigrant. (Thus Flavin, well-known in Hollywood as an "Irish" type, was only one-quarter Irish.) Flavin was born and raised in Portland, Maine (a fact that may have enrichened his later working relationship with director John Ford, also a Portland native). He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, but (contrary to some sources) did not graduate. Instead he dropped out and returned to Portland where he drove a taxi. Then as now, summer stock companies flocked to Maine each year, and in 1929 he was asked to fill in for an actor. He did well with the part and the company manager offered him $150 per week to go with the troupe back to New York. Flavin accepted and by the spring of 1930 was living in a rooming house at 108 W. 87th Street in Manhattan. Flavin didn't manage to crack Broadway at this time (his Broadway debut would not occur for another thirty-nine years, in the 1971 revival of "The Front Page," in which Flavin played Murphy and briefly took over the lead role of Walter Burns from star Robert Ryan). He worked his way across the country in stock productions and tours, arriving in Los Angeles around 1932. He quickly made the transition to movies, landing the lead in his very first film, a Universal serial, The Airmail Mystery (1932). He also landed his leading lady, marrying the serial's female star Lucile Browne that same year. However, the serial marked virtually the last time that Flavin would play the lead in a film. Thereafter, he was restricted almost exclusively to supporting characters, many of them without so much as a name. He specialized in uniformed cops and hard-bitten detectives, but played chauffeurs, cabbies, and even a 16th-century palace guard with aplomb. Flavin appeared in nearly four hundred films between 1932 and 1971, and in almost a hundred television episodes before his final appearance, as President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident (1976). Flavin died of a heart ailment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on April 23, 1976. His widow Lucile died seventeen days later. They were survived by their son, William James Flavin, subsequently a professor at the United States Army War College. James and Lucile Brown Flavin were buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
King Kong
(Mate Briggs)
Manpower
(Orderly About to Give Bath (uncredited))
Confidentially Connie
(Harry (uncredited))
Youth Will Be Served
(Buck Miller)
The Most Dangerous Game
(First Mate on Yacht (uncredited))
My Girl Tisa
(Guard (uncredited))
Blondie Hits the Jackpot
(Brophy)
One Way Ticket
(Ed)
Armored Car Robbery
(Lt. Phillips)
Here Come the Marines
(Lieutenant-Colonel at End)
Three Loves Has Nancy
(Jack's Friend (uncredited))
Night Passage
(Tim Riley)
Mannequin
(Burly Man (Uncredited))
The Devil's Henchman
(Police Sergeant Briggs)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
(Police Detective #1)
Desert Fury
(Pat Johnson)
Nora Prentiss
(District Attorney)
Nobody Lives Forever
(Shake Thomas)
Charlie Chan at the Race Track
(Detective)
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
(First Policeman in Bank)
Wild Is the Wind
(Wool Buyer)
Destination Murder
(Police Lt. Brewster)
The Savage Horde
(Guard)
McKenna of the Mounted
(Corporal Randall McKenna)
Alexander's Ragtime Band
(Army Captain (uncredited))
Cloak and Dagger
(Col. Walsh)
Cheyenne Autumn
(Ft. Robinson Sergeant of the Guard (uncredited))
Born to Be Wild
(Striker (uncredited))
The Shanghai Cobra
(H.R. Jarvis)
Hot News
(Al Bragg)
Footsteps in the Night
(Mr. Bradbury)
Fingers at the Window
(Police Lieutenant Schaeffer)
Mighty Joe Young
(Schultz)
Kathleen
(Moving Man)
Homicide
(Det. Lt. Boylan)
In Cold Blood
(Clarence Duntz)
Wild Gold
(Detective (uncredited))
It Happened on Fifth Avenue
(First Policeman (uncredited))
Belle Starr
(Sergeant)
Man on the Flying Trapeze
(Chauffeur (uncredited))
The Further Adventures of Gallegher
(Lt. Flynn)
Mr. Wong in Chinatown
(Police Sgt. Jerry)
Dragonfly Squadron
(Doctor)
Francis in the Haunted House
(Police Chief Martin)
The Murder Man
(Policeman at Merry-Go-Round (uncredited))
Rendezvous
(2st Military Policeman (uncredited))
Sailor Beware
(Petty Officer (uncredited))
The Naked Street
(Attorney Michael X. Flanders)
God Is My Co-Pilot
(Major at Kweilin Airbase (uncredited))
How to Behave
(Man in Manhole (uncredited))
So Proudly We Hail
(Captain O'Brien (Uncredited))
Reap the Wild Wind
(Girl's Father (uncredited))
I Dood It
(Federal Agent (uncredited))
The Missing Lady
(Police Insp. Cardona)
Riot Squad
(Det. Mack McCue)
Flamingo Road
Law and Order
(Capt. Toomey)
Never Say Goodbye
(Timmy)
Prison Warden
(Guard Capt. Peter Butler)
Abroad with Two Yanks
(Sgt. Wiggins)
Hold That Hypnotist
(Jake Morgan)
Murder on the Waterfront
(Cmdr. Kalin)
Wives Under Suspicion
(Jenks - Chauffeur (uncredited))
Boys' Ranch
(Policeman (uncredited))
The Cisco Kid and the Lady
(Sergeant)
Girls Can Play
(Det. Bill O'Malley)
O. Henry's Full House
(Cop (segment "The Cop and the Anthem") (uncredited))
They All Come Out
(Officer (uncredited))
Apache Ambush
(Col. Marshall)
Follow the Sun
(Henry Gibbs)
The Brand of Hate
(Holt Larkins)
We Go Fast
(Police Lt. Bardette)
Convicts at Large
(Detective Sgt. Berkovich)
Irish Luck
(Fluger)
Hello, Sister!
(Fireman)
Anchors Aweigh
(Radio Cop)
Mississippi Rhythm
(Stan Caldwell)
Lightning Carson Rides Again
(Justice Department Agent)
While New York Sleeps
(2nd Cop)
Massacre Canyon
(Col. Tarant)
Operation Pacific
(SP Commander)
The Eddie Cantor Story
(Kelly)
Oh! Susanna
(Capt. Worth)
A Yank on the Burma Road
(Police Dispatcher)
The Affairs of Cellini
(Palace Guard (uncredited))
The Devil's Pipeline
(Dowling)
Sleep, My Love
(Lieutenant Mitchell)
Pot o' Gold
(Sheriff Bud Connolly (uncredited))
They Met in a Taxi
(Policeman)
My Dear Miss Aldrich
(Dr. Spitzy Calahan (uncredited))
Midnight Taxi
(Detective McCormick)
Live, Love and Learn
(Marine Who Likes Painting (uncredited))
Night Spot
(Kidnapper)
Blondie
(Policeman in Accident Car (uncredited))
Woman Wanted
(Mac - Policeman (uncredited))
Tell No Tales
(Officer Simmons (uncredited))
Everybody's Doing It
(Detective Hayes)
According to Mrs. Hoyle
(Prosecuting Attorney)
Life Begins at Eight-Thirty
(Policeman)
The Airmail Mystery
(Bob Lee)
Back Street
(Reporter (uncredited))
Start Cheering
(Gas Station Attendant)
Carrie
(Mike - Bartender (uncredited))
Broadway Melody of 1940
(Clancy (uncredited))
Manhattan Heartbeat
(Truck Driver)
Jesse James
(Cavalry Captain (uncredited))
Good Times
(Lieutenant)
The Ice Follies of 1939
(Doorman (Uncredited))
Union Pacific
(Paddy (uncredited))
Rose of Washington Square
(Guard (uncredited))
They Shall Have Music
(Police Sergeant (uncredited))
The Gracie Allen Murder Case
(Turnkey)
Each Dawn I Die
(Policeman (uncredited))
Christmas Holiday
(Policeman)
Sergeant Madden
(Police Interrogator)
Fast and Furious
(Policeman Guarding Entrance (uncredited))
The Roaring Twenties
(Policeman (uncredited))
A Stolen Life
(Investigator (uncredited))
The Wild Man of Borneo
(Policeman)
Lucky Cisco Kid
(Ranch Foreman)
South of Pago Pago
(Cafe Customer)
Secrets of Chinatown
(Brandhma)
When Willie Comes Marching Home
(Gen. Brevort (uncredited))
The Grapes of Wrath
(Guard (uncredited))
Bedtime Story
(Hotel Guest in Room 625 (uncredited))
Air Force
(Maj. A.M. Bagley)
Dangerously Yours
(Driver)
You Can't Take It with You
(Jailer (uncredited))
I Am the Law
(George - Witness (uncredited))
Miracle Money
(Cop (uncredited))
Unconquered
(Villager (uncredited))
Uncertain Glory
(Captain of Mobile Guard)
Mildred Pierce
(Detective (uncredited))
Treat 'Em Rough
(Joe Trosper)
The Daring Young Man
(Informant on Telephone)
Remember the Night
(Court Attendant (uncredited))
Sentimental Journey
(Detective Sgt. McFarland (uncredited))
The Fighting 69th
(Supply Sergeant (uncredited))
Brother Orchid
(Parking Attendant at Fat Dutchy's (uncredited))
Dakota Lil
(Secret Service Chief)
Hold Back the Dawn
(Immigration Guard (uncredited))
Bungalow 13
(Lt. Sam Wilson)
Laura
(Det. McEveety (uncredited))
Johnny Apollo
(Prison Guard In Library (uncredited))
Everybody's Baby
(Police Announcer (uncredited))
Saboteur
(Motorcycle Cop (voice) (uncredited))
Ship of Wanted Men
(Frank Busch)
Thru Different Eyes
(Thomas)
The Night of January 16th
(Policeman Kelly)
When the Daltons Rode
(Annabella's Brother)
Ride on Vaquero
(Officer Johnson)
North West Mounted Police
(Mountie)
Code of the Streets
(Doorman)
Baby Take a Bow
(Flannigan)
Gateway
(Guard)
Tin Pan Alley
(Army Sergeant (uncredited))
The Long Voyage Home
(Dock Policeman)
One Touch of Venus
(Kerrigan)
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident
(President Dwight D. Eisenhower)
Gentleman Jim
(George Corbett (uncredited))
Castle on the Hudson
(Death Row Guard (uncredited))
It All Came True
(Roaring 90's Club Doorman (uncredited))
Knute Rockne All American
(Army Assistant Coach (uncredited))
Florian
(Policeman)
The Golden Fleecing
(Cop (uncredited))
And One Was Beautiful
(McRafferty)
Girl in 313
(Det. Carvin)
Rhythm on the River
(Detective)
The Ghost Breakers
(Hotel Porter (uncredited))
The Way of All Flesh
(Policeman)
The Great Profile
(Detective)
Women Without Names
(Guard)
Thank Your Lucky Stars
(Policeman (uncredited))
The Lost Spider Pit Sequence
(Second Mate Briggs (archive footage))
Angel on My Shoulder
(Bellamy)
Rock Island Trail
(Railroad Workman)
Easy to Wed
(Joe)
Robin Hood Of Texas
(Captain Danforth)
Chinatown Squad
(Detective)
La Conga Nights
(Grogin)
Captain Hurricane
(Freighter Officer)
Trouble Along the Way
(Coach Buck Holman)
I Beheld His Glory
(Longinus)
Tough as They Come
(Process Server)
Four Mothers
(Demolition Man (uncredited))
The Plunderers
(Sergeant Major)
Western Union
(Deputy Sheriff)
Ride 'Em Cowboy
(Railroad Detective #2 (uncredited))
Star of Texas
(Texas Rangers Capt. Sturdivant)
Texas
(Abilene Fight Announcer)
Ten Gentlemen from West Point
(Capt. Luddy)
Johnny Rocco
(Mooney)
Shockproof
(Policeman in Park (Uncredited))
Big Town Czar
(George Mitchell)
Big Town Girl
(State Trooper)
Double Alibi
(Patrolman Johnson)
New York Town
(Recruiting Sergeant (uncredited))
Angel's Holiday
(Detective)
Dangerous Number
(Cab Driver)
Shipmates Forever
(Lieutenant (uncredited))
I Wake Up Screaming
(Detective (uncredited))
Million Dollar Mermaid
(Conductor)
Fighting Coast Guard
(Commander Rogers)
Tars and Spars
(Chief Bosun Mate Gurney)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
(Insp. Wellman)
Once Upon a Time
(Man in Subway (uncredited))
Song of the Thin Man
(Policeman Reardon (uncredited))
Affectionately Yours
(Tomassetti)
Action in the North Atlantic
(Merchant Marine School Lieutenant-Commander (uncredited))
The Big Race
(Bill Figg)
Corvette K-225
(1st Lt. Bill Gardner)
Circumstantial Evidence
(Guard)
Hot Water
(Policeman (uncredited))
Something to Shout About
(Policeman)
Heaven Can Wait
(Policeman (uncredited))
Mission to Moscow
(American Senator (uncredited))
Rendezvous with Annie
(Turnkey (uncredited))
I Promise to Pay
(Bill Seaver)
Murder, He Says
(Police Officer (uncredited))
Joe and Ethel Turp Call on the President
(Policeman)
Strange Affair
(Bank Security Guard (Uncredited))
Only Yesterday
(Billy (Uncredited))
The Duke of West Point
(Plebe Hockey Coach)
My Favorite Brunette
(Det. Lt. 'Mac' Hennessey (uncredited))
Public Hero Number 1
(Flavin - Federal Agent (uncredited))
'G' Men
(Agent with Jean (uncredited))
Hollywood Canteen
(Marine Sergeant (uncredited))
Special Agent
(Agent Arresting Julie (uncredited))
Dishonored Lady
(Police Sergeant Patella)
Buck Privates
(Recruiting Sergeant (uncredited))
It Ain't Hay
(Cop (uncredited))
Night in New Orleans
(Egan (Uncredited))
Over 21
(Captain (uncredited))
Mister Roberts
(Military Policeman)
Private Affairs
(Doorman (uncredited))
The Noose Hangs High
(Traffic Cop (uncredited))
Pot o' Gold
(Sheriff Bud Connolly)
You Only Live Once
(State Trooper (uncredited))
Riding High
(Train Conductor)
The Spider
(Officer Johnny Tracy)
The Restless Breed
(Secret Service Chief)
My Man Godfrey
(Detective (uncredited))
Joe Palooka in the Knockout
(Policeman)
Rhubarb
(O'Leary, Manhattan Police Chief (uncredited))
Young Widow
(Subway Conductor (Uncredited))
Ziegfeld Girl
(Buck (uncredited))
Okay, America!
(Undetermined Role (uncredited))
Kid Glove Killer
(Keenan - Detective Grilling Eddie (uncredited))
Beloved
(Wilcox)
Queen of the Mob
(Third FBI Director)
Mickey the Kid
(Sanders)
The All-American
(Don Lindsay)
Swing Shift Maisie
(Radio Policeman (Uncredited))
Secret Service Investigator
(Police Inspector Thorndyke)
The Velvet Touch
(Sgt. Oliphant)
Step by Step
(Woods)
Nightmare Alley
(Hoatley - First Carnival Owner (uncredited))
Hot Steel
(Storm Swenson)
Test Pilot
(Pilot (uncredited))
South Sea Sinner
(Andrews)
The Last Hurrah
(Police Capt. Michael J. Shanahan (uncredited))
Return of the Dead
(Judd Harrison)
The Luckiest Girl in the World
(Policeman)
Mister Ed
Burke's Law
(Officer Danny Robin)
Cain's Hundred
(Arnie Kellwin)
December Bride
The Brady Bunch
The Lucy Show
(Sergeant Wilcox)
Surfside 6
General Electric Theater
Man with a Camera
Hallmark Hall of Fame
(Captain Kimble)
The Twilight Zone
(1962 Policeman)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(Joe Felix)
Sam Benedict
The Millionaire
(Dan Mulcahy)
Lux Video Theatre
(Steve)
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
Richard Diamond, Private Detective
(Sam Cooper)
Climax!
(Hogan)
Pete and Gladys
Lux Video Theatre
(Heineman)
Matinee Theater
The Pruitts of Southampton
Navy Log
The Rifleman
The Addams Family
(Lt. Poston)
Mr. Novak
(Fire Chief Hawkins)
Racket Squad
The New Breed
(Moose)
Public Defender
Cavalcade of America
Dr. Kildare
(John Dolan)
City Detective
State Trooper
Dangerous Assignment
Coronado 9
The Roaring 20's
Johnny Midnight
Letter to Loretta
(MacNamara)
Alcoa Theatre
(Gavin Marshall)
The Living Christ
(Longinus)
The Twilight Zone
(Truck Driver)
General Electric Theater
(Callahan)
Letter to Loretta
(Deputy Mason)
Letter to Loretta
(Sgt. Danny Doofle)
Four Star Playhouse
(Mr. Swanson)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(Tony - The Doorman)
Hallmark Hall of Fame
(General Charles Lee)
I Love Lucy
(Immigration Officer)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
(Dan)
Death Valley Days
(Perry)